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Muller only member left on Saab board

TT/The Local/dl
TT/The Local/dl - [email protected]
Muller only member left on Saab board

Saab CEO Victor Muller is the only member left on the board of directors of the troubled Swedish automaker after the departure of several board members in recent days.

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General counsel Kristina Geers left her post shortly before the Midsummer holiday, the local Göteborgs-Posten (GP) reported.

According to other local media, both union representatives have also left their positions on the Saab board.

Håkan Skött of Saab's IF Metall chapter confirmed the news for the TT news agency on Sunday night.

"That's correct. The company is in a serious situation and because of that I've chosen to leave my position," he told TT.

Geers departure had given union representatives a majority position on the board before they too left their posts. Nevertheless, Skött said it was "hard to say" whether having a union majority on the Saab board could have been used to workers advantage.

"It depends on what sort of issues come up," he said, adding that he didn't want to elaborate further on his reasons for leaving.

The recent departures leave Muller as the sole remaining member of the Saab board.

At the same time, unions may force Saab into bankruptcy in order to ensure members get paid using the state loan guarantees which would then take effect.

"It's possible. That's the most dramatic scenario. I hope and expect that things won't go that far," said Skött.

However, when news hit on Thursday that Saab employees wouldn't get paid, the IF Metall union began drawing up demand for payments notices to be sent to Saab leadership on behalf of every employee.

"There will end up being about 1,500 of them. It will likely take a few more days," said Skött.

The payment demands will be delivered to people at the company authorised to issue payments, including Muller and several other top managers.

After the notes have been delivered, the company has seven days to respond.

"When we know the company's reaction, then we'll decide what the next step will be," Skött told TT.

According to Skött, negotiations took place at the weekend about the possible sale of Saab real estate. In addition, the loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) was also discussed, as was the possibility of getting more money from Saab's new Chinese partners.

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